CORNWALL – Classes start today (Monday) for Cornwall’s new Ontario Emerging Jobs Institute at Nav Center and the seats will be at least 75 per cent full.
Cornwall Innovation Center Executive Director Kelly Bergeron told Cornwall Newswatch, as of Thursday, 121 people had applied for the four boot-camp style programs. There are 40 spots in each class for a total of 160 spots in the four courses: Digital Skills, Business Skills, Agritech Skills and Blended Learning. Applications were still being taken up to and including today.
Mayor Bernadette Clement will be at the OEJI for the opening ceremony at 10 a.m.
The school had planned for a “locals first” intake for the 10-week training sessions in the four courses. Of the student body of 121, 87 applicants are from Cornwall, SD&G and Akwesasne, while the balance are from Alexandria, Lunenburg, Morrisburg, Ingleside, Ottawa and Toronto.
The OEJI had planned on 20 subsidized positions where students would have full expenses paid, including room and board. “We have 43 confirmed scholarship awardees. Scholarships vary based on financial needs,” Bergeron said in an email to Cornwall Newswatch.
The Cornwall Innovation Center got a $477,000 Ontario grant last year to launch the institute.